Retracting slide for firearms



. 2,503,272 April 11, 1950 A H BERT RETRACTING SLIDE FOR FIREARMS FiledMay 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I; 24 I i Arthur H JUhEI adv M44 4 April11, 1950 A. H. JOBERT 2,503,272

RETRACTING SLIDE FOR FIREARMS Filed May 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m, c.smdzamw Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I (Grantedunder the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G.757) 16 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manuiactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me ofany royalty thereon.

This invention relates to automatic firearms such as rifles and carbinesand more particularly to the slide for operating the bolt mechanisms(not shown) of such firearms. Specifically the invention relates to thattype of operating slide disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent 2,308,283,issued January 12, 1943, and which is provided with short guide lugs oneach side, which engage in long slideways or keyways on each side of thebarrel thus permitting relative reciprocation, For the purpose ofassembling and disassembling the slide from the barrel, a notch, whichof necessity must be slightly wider than its coacting lug to permit thelatter to drop through the slot, is provided in one of the keyways. Thisnotch or cutway is provided in the left-hand keyway (looking towards themuzzle of the rifle). The slide is removed from the barrel by moving itto a position in which the left guide or lug can be engaged in the leftkeyway notch to permit it to drop therethrough, and then turning theslide slightly in a counterclockwise sense (still looking towards themuzzle of the rifle) until both the left and the right guide lugs arefree from their respective barrel keyways. Several objections resultfrom the fact that the left guide lug is slightly shorter than theassembling notch in the keyway to permit it to drop therethrough as itis obvious that the guide lug must jump across the notch in operation.The left guideway is also slightly beveled or chamfered where it jointsthe notch which has a tendency to introduce the lug into the notch, soto speak. Since most of the weight of the slide is carried by theleft-hand guide lug, it has'a tendency to drop into the notch whichresults in burring or peening of both ends of the lug and also the sidesof the notch. This objectionable feature sets up a flutter or vibrationin the slide which causes frequent breakage of the slide at variouspoints. on manual manipulation of the slide, the guide lug frequentlydrops into the assembling notch and results in a definite stoppage ofmanual function. It is accordingly an object of this invention toprovide an operating slide which has a lug capable of completelybridging the notch on existing weapons while at the same time-permittingthe complete elimination of the notch in new weapons.

A further object is to provide an operating slide which is easier toremove from the barrel as-' sembly while at the same time providing anoper- 2 ating slide which is completely interchangeable with theoperating slides of existing weapons.

A further object is to provide an operating slide assembly, the severalparts of which can readily be replaced without the use of any toolswhatsoever.

A further object is to provide an operating slide assembly whereby theseveral parts are completely interlocked against disassembly so thatthere are no loose parts when the slide assembly is dismounted irom thebarrel assembly, while at the same time providing an operating slideassembly, the several parts of which can be readily disassembled fromthe slide proper by simple manual manipulation.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

Fig. 1 is a left side elevation of a portion of an existing carbinehaving the aforementioned lefthand dismounting notch;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of my improved operatingslide;

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and including thegun barrel, in locked condition;

Fig. 4 is a cross section similar to Fig. 3 but with the slide inunlocked condition;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of the improved slide;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is an isometric view of the locking mechanism of the improvedslide, in locked condition;

Fig. 7a is an isometric view of the same parts in unlocked condition;and Fig. 7b is an isometric view of those parts in disassemblingcondition;

Fig. 8 is a cross section in a plane corresponding to that of Fig. 3 ofa modified form of operating slide;

Fig. 9 is a similar view of a second modified form of slide; and

Fig. 10 is a side view of the embodiment shown in Fig, 9;

Fig. 11 is a view taken on line HH of Fig. 8.

The present form of operating slide arrangement, briefly described abovein the statement of invention, is shown in Fig. 1 wherein the operatingslide is designated generally as Ill. Operating slide ID has a box-likechannel portion l I open at its top so as to provide clearance for thelower portion of the gun barrel 9. Extending rightwardly (in Fig. 1)from channel portion II towards the breech end of the gun is extensionbar l3, near the right end of which is the cam ledge M; at the right endof extension bar [3 is the finger piece l extending laterally from theside of the gun (and hence largely hidden from view in Fig. 1).Left-hand keyway 8 is provided with the usual notch or cut-out 6somewhat larger than the left-hand slide lug dotted at it.

One form of improved operating slide of this invention is shown in Figs.2 to 7b. The improved slide has a box-like channel portion 2|, Figs. 2and 5, with a left wall and a right wall 25, open at the top; rod 23extends breechwardly from the right wall 20. At the breech end ofchannel portion 2% left and right walls Hand 24 are connected by endwall 22. As best seen in Figs. 3-4. and 6, the slide lug 27 projectsinwardly from right wall 25 and is slidably received in the right keywayl of the gun barrel 9. The left slide lu 38, on the other hand, does notproject from the left wall, but from an insert member 30 extending fromtop to bottom of the slide, which is mounted in a suitable cut-outprovided in the left wall 25, see Fig. 2, of channel portion 2|. Insertmember 39, the lug 38 of which is slidably received in the leftkeyway Bof the barrel, is mounted by means of a stud 36 fixed thereon andprojecting therefrom, slidably received in a'cylindrical bore 2%provided in the end wall 22 of channel portion 2 i In addition to thesaid horizontal bore 26, end wall 22 is also provided with a verticalcylindrical bore 23 in which is rotatively received a vertical pin 40.Vertical pin cooperates with horizontal stud 36 of insert member 30 toprovide for three conditions of the insert member relative to the slideor rather to channel portion 2! thereof, via, (a) locked condition, inwhich insert member 30 is held in end wall 22 with its guide lug litreceived in barrellzeyway ll, as shown in Figure 3, (b) unlockedcondition, in which insert member 30 is held in end wall 22 with its.guide lug 30 clear of barrel keyway 8, Fig. 4 (see Figure 7a), so thatthe operating slide may be'removed from the barrel, and (c)disassembling condition (see Figure 7b), enabling the insertinember tobe separated from the retractor slide. Horizontal stud 36 is cut by avertical groove or scallop 3|, the upper half of which is ofsemicircular shape. The radius of the upper half of vertical scallop 31is somewhat larger than the radius of vertical pin 40 so that the topportion of the pin (see Fig. '7) may be rotatively received therein. Theposition of vertical scallop 3i relative to insert member 3a and to thevertical pin 00 is such, see Fig. 3, that when the pin is held in thescallop, as it is in Figures -3 and 7, the vertical pin will blockwithdrawal movement of stud 36 and insert member 30 to the left. Thatis, the vertical pin 40 engages horizontal stud 38 to hold the insertmember '30 in locked condition as defined above.

As best seen in Fig. 7, a semi-circular portion is removed from the lefthalf of the top of vertical pin 30 leaving a semi-circular projectionconstituting the right half and a depressed step 42 to the left thereof.It is the semi-circular proj ection l! of the vertical pin which holdsthe insert member lit in locked position, b abutting against, or fittingin, the righthalf (as viewed in Fig. 7) of vertical scallop 3| ofhorizontal stud 35. To the right of scallop 3 I, as viewed in Figs.7,-7a and 7b, the horizontal stud-3E has a second scallop or groove 33which differs from-scallop 3| in that it does not extend clear throughthe horizontal stud 36 as does scallop 3|. Scallop 33 occupies only thelower portion of stud 30, its upper extremity terminatin in thehorizontal plane which passes through the axis of stud 3S. Thatis,

while the lower extremity of scallop 33 is openended (as are bothextremities of scallop 3|), the upper extremity of scallop 33 is definedby a horizontal, diametrical ledge 32 which overhangs scallop 33. Theheight of vertical pin 40 and the dimensions and position of itssemi-circular projection l! are such that the depressed step 42 ofvertical pin 50 is somewhat below the level of the diametrical ledge 32of horizontal stud 35. Hence when vertical pin M is turned on itslongitudinal axis in cylindrical bore 28 (as will be subsequentlyreferred to) its depressed step 42. will underlie the overhanging ledge32 of horizontal stud 35, as is shown in Fig. 7a. In Fig. 7, verticalpin -30, more particularly, its upper projection 4|, is reposed inscallop 3! of horizontal stud 35, with projection ill abutting the righthalf of the scallop and thus blocking leftward movement of stud 36 andinsert member '30; insert member 30 is thus held in its rightmostposition, with its guide lug 33 retained in barrel keyway 6, this beingthe locked condition, or locked position of the device, see also Fig. 3.

When it is desired to bring the parts to unlocked condition or position,from the one last described-so that the operating slide may be removedfrom the barre1-the vertical pin 40 is turned in a clockwise sense (asviewed from above) from locked condition, Fig. '7, with the pin reposedin scallop 3.5, to unlocked condition, Fig. 7a. As the vertical pin isturned in this manner its serni-circu1ar"projection 4| is turnedentirely clear of scallop 31 when the pin has completed its 90 turning.This is a consequence of the fact that the left edge of vertical pin 40as viewed in Fig. 2 substantially intersects a vertical diametrical linethrough the horizontal stud 36. Therefore when the vertical pin is givena 90 turn as described, the vertical diametrical side 45 of projectionwill be parallel to the horizontal stud 36 and slightly clear of thestud. By this 90 turning, the upper, projection 4| of vertical pin 40clears itself from the upper half of scallop 3| of the stud, i. e., thatpart of scallop 3| wzhich lies above a horizontal plane through ledge 3It should be here pointed out that, while the upper half of scallop 3!is semi-circular with a radius somewhat greater than the radius ofvertical pin t0, the lower half of scallop 3| is not in the shape of asemi circle as is the upper half. The lower half of scallop 3| and thescallop 33 are not distinct grooves or scallops but form one continuouselongated recess. The left end of this recess is defined by a 90 curvewhich is the lower continuation of the upper half of scallop 3|. Theright end of the recess is also defined by a 90 curve having the sameradius as that of the left end and scallop 3|. Between these two curvedends, the recess has a straight portion which extends axially along avertical diametrical plane. Because of this central straight portion ofrecess '3|-33, no obstruction is offered to that portion of vertical pin40 which is below depressed step &2. When pin 48 is turned 90 to theposition shown in Fig. 7a, the stud 36 is enabled to move leftwardlyrelative to vertical pin 40, until pin 40 abuts the right curved end ofthe recess, 1. e., the right wall of scallop 33. Horizontal stud 36 isimpelled to move leftwardly by a compression spring 35 confined by thestud in a. reduced coaxial counterbore at the inner end of the bore 26.This extent of leftward movement of stud 36 and insert member 30 issufficient to withdraw guide. lug 38 from barrel keyway 8, Fig. 4. Theparts 36 and 40 in the last named relation may be said to constitute alost motion connection between the insert 36 and the slide.

For the purpose of providing a means by which vertical pin 46 may beturned, there is secured to its lower end a resilient strip 41. Asclearly seen in Figs. 7, 7a and 7b and in the bottom plan view of Fig.5, one edge of strip 41, designated 47b, is tangent to the pin 40, whilethe other edge 41a. extends somewhat beyond so as to present a shortledge along that side. Also, the proximal end of strip 41 extends ashort distance beyond pin 46 so as to present a short rear ledge orflange 49. The underside of wall 22 of the operating slide is providedwith a lip 29 which cooperates with the tangent edge 4127,

the extended edge 41a and the rear ledge 49 of the strip 4'! in thefollowing manner. When the vertical pin 46 is turned to lockedcondition, which angular position of the pin is shown in the solid lineposition of its strip 41 in the bottom plan view of Fig. 5, the extendededge 41a of strip 41more particularly, the portion of extended edge 41awhich borders pin 46will overlie lip 29. Lip 29 therefore will preventdownward withdrawal of pin 46 in the locked condition of the parts.Leftward withdrawal of insert member 36 is prevented by the fitting ofVertical pin 40 in scallop 3|, as described above.

The lip 29 also prevents downward withdrawal of pin 46 when turned inunlocked condition. The unlocked angular position of pin 46 is shown inFig. 5 by the dot-and-dash position of its strip 41 which is normal tothe solid-line, locked position of strip 41. In this unlocked positionof strip 41 (dot-and-dash) the rear ledge 49 of the strip overlies lip29. Lip 29 therefore will prevent downward withdrawal of pin 46 in theturn, so that it is now 180 from the locked posi-' tion of Fig. 7. Thedisassembling position is shown in Fig. 7b, where it will be seen thatthe semi-circular projection 4| is now on the left of the pin. Thehorizontal stud 36 must first manually be moved rightwardly by pressureon insert member 30 in order that the projection 4| may clear in thescallop 3i In the disassembling position of pin 46, which is shown bythe dotted line position of its strip 41 in Fig. 5 (aligned but opposedto its locked position shown in solid lines), the tangent edge 41b ofthe strip now faces the lip 29 but does not overlie it. Hence when thepin 40 and its strip 41 are turned to disassembling position, lip 29will not prevent the downward withdrawal of pin 46. After the pin hasbeen removed, the insert member 30 may be withdrawn leftwardly.

Strip 47 is made of spring metal the distal end of which is bentslightly upward so that it will snap into locked position behind alooking or retaining lug 26 for the purpose of securing it in lockedcondition. The underside of the retracting slide, more particularly theunderside of end wall 22 is provided with a projecting lug 26, see Fig.5, which is just to the right of strip 41 when in locked condition(solid lines in Fig. 5). That is, strip 41 is held firmly in lockedcondition by the abutment of its edge 41a against a stop edge 22cprovided on the underside of wall 22 of the slide and. by the abutmentof its other edge 41b against the lug 26. To turn the pin fromits lockedcondition, the distal end of its strip 4'! is sprung over the lug 26 andthe strip and pin turned in a counterclockwise sense, as viewed in Fig.5 (which is a bottom plan View) The improved retracting slide of Figs. 2to '71) does not require the provision of a notch in the keyway of thebarrel. The improved retracting slide may be used on carbines which hadbeen provided with the present type of retracting slide and whose leftkeyway 8, see Fig. 1, has a dismounting notch 6. In such cases the guidelug (left) 33 of the insert member 36 must be made sufficiently long tospan the keyway notch 6, see Fig. 6, in order not to drop therethrough.

A modified form of operating slide is shown in Figs. 8 and 11, whereinsert member 56, whose guide lug 58 is withdrawable leftwardly from thebarrel keyway, has a stud 56 which is slidably received in a cylindricalbore 59 provided in wall 22 of the slide. The distal end of stud 56 isprovided with a notch 55 opening on its upper surface. Notch 55, whichis less than a full circle but greater than a half-circle, is cut to aradius somewhat larger than the radius of the tenon 5 of the operatingspring guide rod 54 of the prior gun. The wall 22 of the slide is boredand counterbored at 53, as in the prior gun, and functions as before toafford a seat for the rod 54 which is held thereto by the conventionaldrive spring 52 of the prior gun. The position of stud 56 and its notch55 are so related to the spring guide rod 54, that end of the tenon 5will engage the notch 55 to hold stud 56 and insert member 56 in lockedcondition, as shown in Figs 8 and 11.

Since it is necessary to remove the spring guide rod 54 and itsassociated recoil and drive spring 52 to dismount operating slide l6, itis obvious that insert member can be readily removed when the endtenon 5of spring guide rod 54 is dis engaged from notch 55 of stud 56.

Another modified form of operating slide is shown in Figures 9 and 10,where insert member 66 has a position and function corresponding tothose of insert member 36 and is pivotally mounted to wall 22 on a pin6| set through member 66 and projecting at front and rear on each sidethereof. Pin 6! is journaled in a deep slot 5'! cut in side wall 25 andparallel with the normal axis of the slide. This slot has parallel sideswhich are inclined upwardly and outwardly at an angle of slightly lessthan forty-five degrees to the horizontal. The insert 60 has a lower endportion '16 extended inwardly in the slot H which forms a continuationof the cutout 12 in which the insert is set. The end portion 16 has atop side l3 which is inclined downward and inward at an angle of lessthan 45 degrees to the horizontal but somewhat more steeply than theinclination of the sides of the slot 61 as shown. The top side of theslot H is at a more acute angle to the horizontal, so that a space isaiforded thereunder for rocking of the end '76 on the pin M. A springpressed plunger 63 is slidably held in cylindrical bore 69 provided inwall 22. Bore 69 is substantially at a normal to angular slot 61. Theouter end of pin 63 is pointed to be seated in a cavity or hole 62provided in pivoted member 66. A. compression spring 64 within bore 69and between its bottom and pin 63 urges the pin outwardly to turnpivoted member 66 in a clockwise sense and thus to maintain the guidelug 68. in the left keyway of the barrel. The opcrating slide is removedfrom the :barrel .by turning member 6,9 counter-clockwise to withdrawthe lug 68. To facilitate the manual withdrawal of lug 58 upon turningmember Gil, the upper surface of lug 68 may be beveled as at .65.

This device also has a manner of operations by which the insert 60 maybe disengaged from the slide simultaneously with the freeing of theslide for removal from the barrel. In the latter operation, the bevel at66 and the inclination of the top face 7-3, permit the insert 60 to bepressed translatively toward the left and upward, and if necessary thena slight pivotal movement in which the insert 6!) pivots at the lug -68,so that the whole insert rotates slightly around the lug 68, the actualaxis of such rotation being shifted late-rally outward as the :lug movesout of the left keyway of the barrel, the slide being at the same timerotated slightly on a longitudinal axis of "the gun at the right handlug 21. The latter movement corresponds to the take-down movement of theslide in the prior gun when the left guide lug was aligned with thekeyway notch of the conventional barrel. The loose fit of the left guidelug in the keyway as usually practiced heretofore also contributes topermitting the initial movement of the pin 6| in the slot 61. In thelast described disassembly movement of the insert 60, the plunger 63 andits spring '65 co-act with the cavity 62 as a bullet latch, opposing themovement, by the cam action of the nose of the plunger against the sideof the cavity 62.

The plunger is cam-med upward as the side of the cavity wipestransversely on the plunger in the translative movement of the insert.

To disassemble member till from the slide it is merely necessary toinsert the reduced end of spring guide 54- '(not shown) or other pointedarticle into hole 52 to disengage its coacting plunger, and while theplunger is thus held, member 53 is moved to the left and upward parallelwith slot 6 It will be seen from 'the'foregoing that plunger 63effectively holds member 60 assembled to the operating slide, while atthe same time permitting partial rotation of member -68 about itsfulcrum 6! to disengage lug 68 from its coacting keywa-y.

While I have described my invention as it relates to firearms, it isobvious that it is susceptible to various modifications and changes;that it can be applied to other mechanisms and devices without departingfrom the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a firearm oi the character described, in combination, a barrelprovided with keyways along both sides thereof, a channel portionhavingparallel side walls receiving the barrel slidably therebetween andan end wall shortened in height to provide clearance for the saidbarrel, one of the side walls having a cut-out adjacent the said endwall, a movable insert member pivotally mounted in the said wallcut-:out, a slide lug inwardly projecting from the said insert memberand a slide lug inwardly projecting from the opposite side wall, thesaidlugs being-slidably received in respective said keyways, and springmeans for yieldably holding the said insert member in a position tomaintain its said slide lug in the :barrel keyway, the said insertmember being manually displaceable :to withdraw its slide lug from thebarrel keyway.

2. An operating slide for firearms provided with a spring retainer rodand a barrel having keyways along both sides thereof, comprising, in

combination, a channel portion having parallel side walls and an endwall shortened in height to provide clearance for the said barrel, oneof the side walls having a cut-out at the said end wall, an insertmember positioned in the said wall cut-out, .aislide lug inwardlyprojecting from the said insert member and a slide lug inwardlyprojecting from the opposite side wall slidably received in the barrelkeyways, the said channel portion having a hole extending longitudinallyinto the said opposite side wall and transversely through the said endwall for receiving the said spring retainer rod, the said end wallhaving a cylindrical bore extending longitudinally thereof from the saidwall cut-out and intersecting the said hole, a spindle projecting fromthe said insert member and received in the said bore, the distal end ofthe .said spindle having a recess to receive the said spring retainerrod, and the said spindle recess being positioned to cause the :said rodto hold the insert member with its slide lug locked .in the barrelkeyway.

3. in a firearm of the character described, a barrel, .guideways on thebarrel, a slide mounted for reciprocation along the barrel, said slideincluding lugs slidably engaged in respective guideways, at least one ofsaid lugs being a movable lug engaged retractably in one guideway, aninterlocking member normally .in looking position in relation to saidlug and constructed to hold the lug in engagement with said one guidewaywhen at said position, and being movable to an unlocked position inrelation to said lug distally extending resilient means fixed on andmovable with :said interlocking member, said slide having a slotpositioned to receive one end of said resilient means at locking andunlocked positions, said resilient :means coengageable with said slot tohold the interlocking member against removal while in .and between bothsaid positions, a looking shoulder on the slide :for engagement with thedistal end of said resilient means when at said locking position, saidresilient means being manually displaceable to clear the shoulder.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said interlocking member has a'thirdposition at which it is movable from the slide "and lug, saidresilient member movable therewith to the third position and beingconstructed to clear said slot at the third position.

:5. The-structure of claim 3 in which said interlocking member has athird position movable from the lug and slide, said resilient membermovable therewith to the third position and being constructed to clearthe said slot at the third position, said 'lu'g and interlocking memberconstructed to lock the latter against separation when the lug isretracted, :and resilient means to hold the lug at retracted positionyieldable to manual replacement.

-6.'The structure of claim 3 in which said interlocking member .is arotatable member movable angularly to and from said positions andmovable also to a third position for disassembly, said resilient memberconstructed to clear said slot at the third position, and saidinterlocking member being slidable longitudinally of its axis ofrotation from the lug and :slide at said third position, when the lug isin one position.

'7. The structure of claim 3 in which said interlocking member :is :arotatable member movable angula'rly to and from said positions andmovable also "to a third position for disassembly, said resilient.I'mem'b'er constructed to clear said slot at the third position, andsaid. interlocking member being slidable longitudinally of its axis ofrotation from the lug and slide at said third position when the lug isin one position, said lug being constructed to clear the interlockingmember for withdrawal of the latter when the lug is-in engaged positionand to interlock with the interlocking member to prevent withdrawal ofthe member when the lug is at retracted position, and resilient means tourge the lug toward retracted position, yieldable to manual pressure.

8. In a firearm, the combination therein of a barrel havingdiametrically opposite guideways, an operating slide about said barreland adapted to reciprocate relative to the same, a first lug integralwith said slide and extending laterally inward thereof and slidablyengaging one of said guideways, a second lug slidably engaging the otherof said guideways, said slide having a cutout portion, an insert movablymounted in said cut-out portion and carrying said second lug, a studfixed to said insert normal thereto and laterally slidable in saidslide, spring means in said slide biasing said stud transversely of saidslide, said stud having a semi-circular recess and an elongated recessadjacent thereto, a cylindrical pin rotatably mounted in said slidenormal to said stud and received within said elongated recess, saidcylidrical pin adapted to be rotated sequentially from an initialposition to a terminal position through an intermediate position, asemi-cylindrical projection on one end of said cylindrical pin andadapted to be rotated into said semi-circular recess when saidcylindrical pin is rotated to either the initial or terminal positionswhereby said stud is held against lateral movement relative to saidslide, said projection being adapted to be rotated out of saidsemi-circular recess when said pin is rotated to the intermediateposition whereby said stud is freed for lateral movement by said springmeans, the end of said cylindrical pin riding in said elongated recessand adapted to abut an end wall of the same to limit movement of saidstud by said spring means, a curved leaf spring secured to the end ofsaid cylindrical pin opposite to said semi-cylindrical projection andextending at the same side of the axis of said cylindrical member, aslot extending transversely on said slide, said leaf spring having anoifset portion adapted to extend into said slot when said cylindricalpin is in the initial or intermediate position whereby said cylindricalpin is held against axialdisplacement in said slide, and wherebyrotation of said cylindrical pin to the terminal position will disengagesaid offset portion from said slot freeing said pin for removal fromsaid slide by axial movement.

9. In a firearm, the combination therein of a barrel havingdiametrically opposite guideways, an operating slide about said barreland adapted to reciprocate relative to the same, a first lug extendingfrom said slide and slidably engaging one of said guideways, a secondlug slidably engaging the other of said guideways, an insert carryingsaid second lug, a stud fixed to said insert normal thereto and slidablymounted in said slide, spring means in said slide biasing said studtransversely of said slide, said stud having a recess, a pin rotatablymounted in said slide, said pin adapted to be rotated sequentially froman initial position to a terminal position through an intermediateposition, a projection on one end of said pin and adapted to be movedinto said recess when said pin is rotated to either the initial orterminal positions whereby said stud is held against axial movementrelative to said slide, said pin being adapted to be moved out of saidrecess when said pin is rotated to the intermediate position wherebysaid stud is freed for axial movement by said spring means, a leafspring secured to the end of said pin, a slot extending transversely onsaid slide, said leaf spring having an offset portion adapted to extendinto said slot when said pin is in the initial or the intermediateposition whereby said pin is held against axial displacement from saidslide, and whereby rotation of said pin to the terminal position willdisengage said offset portion from said slot freeing said pin forremoval from said slide by axial movement.

10. In a firearm, the combination therein of a barrel havingdiametrically opposite guideways, an operating slide adapted toreciprocate relative to said barrel, a first lug extending from saidslide into one of said guideways, a second lug engaging the other ofsaid guideways, an insert attached to said second lug, a stud fixed tosaid insert and movable on said slide, spring means in said slidebiasing said stud transversely of said slide, said stud having a recess,a pin means removably mounted in said slide and said recess whereby saidstud is held against movement relative to said slide, said pin meansbeing adapted to be moved out of said recess to free said stud forlateral movement by said spring means, and means on the end of said pinfor releasably retaining said pin in said slide.

11. In a firearm, the combination therein of a barrel havingdiametrically opposite guideways, an operating slide, a pair of lugsthereon engaging said guideways, respectively, for supporting said slidefor reciprocatory movement, one of said lugs being retractable from saidrespective guideway, movable means on said slide supporting saidretractable lug for movement transversely of said respective guideway,locking means on said slide interengaging with said movable means forholding the same against movement relative to said slide whereby saidretractable lug is retained in said respective guideway.

12. In a firearm, the combination therein of a barrel havingdiametrically opposite guideways, an operating slide adapted toreciprocate relative to said barrel, a first lug extending from saidslide into one of said guideways, a second lug engaging the other ofsaid guideways, a support means carrying said second lug and movablymounted on said slide, and removable means in said slide reelasablyholding said support means against movement relative to said slidewhereby said second lug is retractably held in said other of saidguideways.

13. In a firearm of the character described, a barrel, guideways in saidbarrel, a slide mounted for reciprocation on said barrel and having alug engaged in one of the guideways, a movable lug retractably engagedin the other of said guideways to hold the slide releasably on saidbarrel, an interlocking member for normally holding said movable lug inengagement with said respective guideway, distally extending resilientmeans included with said interlocking member movable therewith from alocked position to a released position, said slide having a slot forreceiving one end of said distally extending resilient means when atsaid locked position, and to clear the same when at said releasedposition, and a locking shoulder on said slide for engagement with thedistal end of said resilient means, said interlocking member andresilient means being removable from the remainder of said slide whensaid movable lug is engaged with its coacting guideway to permitdisengagement of said resilient means from its coacting locking shoulderand slot.

14. In a firearm of the character described, in combination, a barrelprovided with keyways along both sides thereof, a channel portion havingparallel side walls receiving the barrel slidably therebetween and anend wall shortened in height to provide clearance. for the said :barrel,one of the side walls having a cut-out adjacent the said end wall, amovable member positioned in the said wall cut-out, a slide lug inwardlyprojecting from the said insert member and a slide lug inwardlyprojecting from the opposite side wall, the said lugs being slidablyreceived in said barrel keyways, the said end wall having a horizontalbore open. at the said wall cut-out and a vertical bore open at thebottom, an inwardly projecting horizontal stud fixed on said insertmember and slidably received in the said horizontal bore, a vertical pinrotatively received in the said vertical bore and manually turnableselectively to locked, unlocked and disassembling positions, meanspreventing bottom withdrawal of the pin in its said locked and unlockedpositions but permitting pin withdrawal in its said disassemblingposition, the said horizontal stud and the said vertical pin havingcoacting elements constructed and arranged in the said locked positionof the pin, to prevent withdrawal of the insert member whereby its saidslide lug is locked in the barrel keyway, and constructed and arrangedin the said unlocked position of the pin, to permit a limited withdrawal of the insert member sumcient to withdraw its slide lug from thebarrel keyway, the said withdrawal of the pin in its said disassemblingposition permitting the stud to be removed from its horizontal bore.

15. In a firearm of the character described, in combination,v a barrelprovided with keyways along both sides thereof, a channel portion havingparallel side walls receiving the barrel slidably therebetween and anend wall shortened in height to provide clearance for the said barrel,one of the side walls having a cut-out adjacent the said end wall, amovable insert member positioned in the said wall cut-out, a slide luginwardly projecting from the said insert member and a. slide luginwardly projecting from the opposite side wall, the said lugs beingslidably received in said barrel keyways, and means including awithdrawable element manually turnable selectively to locked, unlocked?and disassembling positions, said element having blocking relation tothe insert member in the direction of withdrawal of the latter when thesaid element is in its said locked position whereby the lug of theinsert member is locked in the barrel keyway, said means so constructedand arranged that with said element in its said unlocked position itconstitutes a lost motion connection between the insert member and slideto permit limited positioning of the insert member sufficient towithdraw its slide lug clear of the barrel keyway, the said elementhaving a free relation to the remainder of said means and removabletherefrom when the said element is in its said disassembling position.

16. In a firearm, a barrel having longitudinally extending guideways, aslide provided with lugs in slidable engagement with the guideways forslidably connecting the slide to the barrel; said slide including amovable section containing one of said lugs and movable relatively tothe slide for disengaging said section from the slide for demountablyattaching the remainder of the slide to the barrel; said slide having arecessed portion, said movable section having a projection extendinginto said recessed portion and provided with a latch-receivingportion,.and a latch member slidably mounted in the slide and normallyengaging said latch-receiving portion for detachably retaining themovable section in a position in which the lug carried thereby is heldin operative engagement with its guideways.

ARTHUR H. JOBERT.

REFERENCES 0113121) The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,917,119 Toborg Feb. 13, 19121,181,416 Wesson May 2, 1916 1,187,888 Diehm June 20, 1916 1,386,197Ortigies Aug. 2, 1921 2,308,283 Humeston Jan. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 373,985 France Apr. 5, 1907

